Arrr!
Talk Like a Pirate Day is silly, originated by a couple of jokesters, John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers. They wrote a silly pirate book that actually does have some data inbetween the booze'n'broad jokes, and they picked Sept 19th as the day as it was the birthday of one of their ex-wives and they wanted to tweak her.
They're not talking about modern pirates, of course, who are grim, efficient killers, usually in camo boats with heavy duty radar equipment. They're talking about pirates who probably never existed, though Dread Pirate Roberts did have style, before he was brought down.
Swashbuckling pirates! Sportin' cool clothes in the extravagant styles of the 1700s, sailing stylish tall ships--swashbuckle being cartoon fighting, high on action and low on pain. The bad guys are all red shirts in a true swashbuckler. And you want to see the villain get his chitlins aired, preferably in an athletic duel, though ordinarily your violence extends to swatting mosquitoes and maybe cussing out SUV drivers who, phone to ear, dive across four lanes of traffic in order to gain ten whole feet on the pack.
So. Adventure stories, vicarious thrills. The Pirates of the Carribean movies got it pretty much right (I would have preferred fewer monsters, myself); after the past week, when it seems there's been an extra helping of stress, and grief, and other unhappy things, maybe a dose (even a ten minutes' mental dose) of Errol Flynn or Johnny Depp level of adventure would be a bit of relief.
If so, what's the latest adventure story you read and liked? Me, in and around the extreme stress of the past week, I read Mississippi Jack , the fifth Bloody Jack Faber YA by L. A. Meyer. They are colorful, larger than life adventure stories, with a salting of sexual tension (of various sorts) in the same vein. They are very popular with a couple of the teen crowds I know. It took me days to read, due to abovementioned Stuff, whereas ordinarily those books are a couple hours' read, but that was good, because when I could get some bitty escapes from ongoing falling pianos, there it was!
Jacky escapes from the clutches of a greedy captain who wants the 350 pound reward on her head, and runs with the doughty Higgins, Jim Turner, and quiet, earnest Katy Deere into the interior of the new United States, making it all the way to the Mississippi. . . on a river boat she tricks out of Mike Fink. It's rollicking fun, with a poignant moment or two. As usual, she just . . . barely . . . keeps her virtue, but this time it's Jaimy who gets tested as he tries desperately to follow her. Can't wait for the next.
They're not talking about modern pirates, of course, who are grim, efficient killers, usually in camo boats with heavy duty radar equipment. They're talking about pirates who probably never existed, though Dread Pirate Roberts did have style, before he was brought down.
Swashbuckling pirates! Sportin' cool clothes in the extravagant styles of the 1700s, sailing stylish tall ships--swashbuckle being cartoon fighting, high on action and low on pain. The bad guys are all red shirts in a true swashbuckler. And you want to see the villain get his chitlins aired, preferably in an athletic duel, though ordinarily your violence extends to swatting mosquitoes and maybe cussing out SUV drivers who, phone to ear, dive across four lanes of traffic in order to gain ten whole feet on the pack.
So. Adventure stories, vicarious thrills. The Pirates of the Carribean movies got it pretty much right (I would have preferred fewer monsters, myself); after the past week, when it seems there's been an extra helping of stress, and grief, and other unhappy things, maybe a dose (even a ten minutes' mental dose) of Errol Flynn or Johnny Depp level of adventure would be a bit of relief.
If so, what's the latest adventure story you read and liked? Me, in and around the extreme stress of the past week, I read Mississippi Jack , the fifth Bloody Jack Faber YA by L. A. Meyer. They are colorful, larger than life adventure stories, with a salting of sexual tension (of various sorts) in the same vein. They are very popular with a couple of the teen crowds I know. It took me days to read, due to abovementioned Stuff, whereas ordinarily those books are a couple hours' read, but that was good, because when I could get some bitty escapes from ongoing falling pianos, there it was!
Jacky escapes from the clutches of a greedy captain who wants the 350 pound reward on her head, and runs with the doughty Higgins, Jim Turner, and quiet, earnest Katy Deere into the interior of the new United States, making it all the way to the Mississippi. . . on a river boat she tricks out of Mike Fink. It's rollicking fun, with a poignant moment or two. As usual, she just . . . barely . . . keeps her virtue, but this time it's Jaimy who gets tested as he tries desperately to follow her. Can't wait for the next.